Sunday, December 1, 2013

Thanksgiving

We have had many things to be thankful for this
week. This was not only the traditional holiday, but also graduation for Officer
Candidate School. As part of the OCS graduation ceremonies we attended Family
Day.We got to gather inside the
auditorium and listen to the school’s commanding officer gave a short briefing
about what the candidates have been through for ten weeks. Having seen them twice
a week for that time we felt like we were a part of it. Then we got to mingle with the OCS candidates and
meet several family members. It was fun
to meet folks we have heard the students talk about so much.It was fun to get to see these kids in a more
relaxed setting, enjoying their families and smiling huge smiles. The following
day was graduation. It was a cold, windy, rainy day, and the marine candidates
voted to have it outdoors anyway (after all this shows how tough they have
become) because they had practiced their parades and the marching band, nor the
cannons show off as well indoors.We
bundled up in many layers and hauled blankets.Luckily we got covered seats because we are part of the religious lay
leaders.But it was cold, wet and
windy.Things started right on time, of
course, which always delights Dan.The
students marched on and stood in the drizzling rain for a long time.There were some short but nice speeches.The special awards were cool because one of
our guys got the Gung Ho award, the peer voted award for the candidate that
shows the most Marine spirit.Finally
the company did their pass in review and marched right by us.We cheered for our guys and gals.Finally the parade was over and we got to
mingle with them again.We had written
personal notes of congratulation for each of our LDS graduates on Marine Corps
notecards.We included a Semper Fi
magnet, invitation to future family home evenings, and our business card.Semper Fi means Always Faithful, which is the
marine motto.So we got to hand out the
cards to all of our students.We hope we
will see all of them at our weekly family home evenings at The Basic School.After a quick trip home to remove some of our
layers and have a quick lunch we departed for the commissioning ceremony, which
luckily was held indoors at the Marine Corps Museum.It was a joyous, happy occasion, with
hundreds of family members milling around, taking pictures, and chatting with
their sons and daughters.The 159
candidates sat in chairs and most of the audience stood around the edges, or on
several balconies above.Again there
were a couple of short speeches, very good ones too.Then the graduates took the Oath of Office
and all were commissioned as Second Lieutenants.As soon as the graduates were released they
found their families and had their moms, dads, girlfriends and wives pin on
their new Second Lt bars.We got to see
almost our entire group to congratulate them and say hello.We felt so proud of them, and so humble and
appreciative to be a small part of their journey through this school. Here is a picture of the rainy parade in the morning and of some of our newly commissioned LDS marine officers at the afternoon ceremony.

On Thanksgivingwe spent our first big holiday away from home.We missed seeing the kids and grandkids, but
had a nice day.We had a delightful
Skype session with the Hongs and Billings the day before in Houston , and a
nice visit with Chris, Stacey and Aaron via telephone. Late Thanksgiving afternoon
we met two other senior missionary couples from Washington DC for a
Thanksgiving meal at Cracker Barrel.We
had an excellent meal and good conversation.It was fun to hear what the other senior missionaries do, particularly
the other Military Relations Couple who are stationed at Ft Belvoir in DC.Afterwards we went for a drive around
Quantico Marine Base, which none of them had seen before.We are thankful for the quick and interesting
friendships the Church facilitates, and how wonderful it is to feel at home
wherever you are.

On Saturday afternoon we met with the a young family to
talk about Dan’s blessing of their baby. About two weeks ago they asked him if he would do the blessing since the dad is not a member of our church. We had
a lesson about Christ blessing children and about how precious children are to
the Lord.Then we talked about what
would actually happen during the blessing.Finally we just talked to them about what their hopes and dreams are for
their darling little son.It was a very
nice meeting and we really feel close to this young couple.It reminded us of all the hopes and dreams
we had for our children when they were newborn babies, and how grateful we were
to have 4 healthy children.We got to
attend a baptism later that day.Two
young boys, about 11 and 13, are from an inactive family where the mom and dad
are divorced.They spend weekdays with
dad and weekends with mom.But through
the missionaries, friends, and other family members the boys decided they
wanted to be baptized.Many old friends
from an Asian ward they had initially attended traveled some distance to attend
and participate. It was a very sweet event.Afterwards two young Elders came over for dinner, which was
excellent.These two are our Zone
Leaders and are really outstanding young men.It was nice to get to know them better.Then we had a bell practice with them.The two of them, Lezlie and I, and the two sisters assigned to our ward
are going to do a bell choir song for the Quantico Ward Christmas party.It was great fun practicing.The Elders had a great time and were laughing
the whole time. We are thankful for the
opportunities we have here to share our talents and enjoy the talents of
others.

The highlight of church today was Dan getting to
bless the baby Cooper.The 6 week old
baby was almost 100% cooperative, and the spirit was felt strongly.The blessing felt very good.During it the mom and dad cried.At the very end, maybe the last 30 seconds, the
baby started getting fussy and you could hear him winding up to really
holler.But the Bishop started stroking
his head and he held off.What a good
baby.It was a wonderful experience and Dan
felt honored and humbled to be asked to perform such a sacred ordinance for our
friends. We are thankful for the Priesthood and the opportunities we have had
to serve and to bring others closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

If you are reading this blog, we are thankful for
the influence you have been in our life, and the interest that you take in us.
Thanks.We love you and miss you.